Thirteen hours in an airplane is not anyone's idea of a fun time, but we gladly boarded the plane from San Francisco to Manila for the thirteen hour flight. We praise God that it was a safe and uneventful flight. We arrived in Manila Tuesday morning, at about 3:45 a.m. Upon arrival, we settled in for a 4+ hour layover. Some from our group took the time to get some work done, while others took the opportunity to relax and catch a bit more sleep.

Once in Iloilo, we checked into our hotel and enjoyed being able to freshen up before the annual dinner at Breakthrough Restaurant. It's always such a pleasure to eat fresh seafood by the beautiful ocean, but it's even more enjoyable to spend a little bit of time with the children who live near the restaurant. The ladies from our group brought stickers and candy for the kids, and the kids really enjoyed getting their pictures taken. You can't help but have compassion on these children with very little earthly goods. But even more heartbreaking than that is the thought they may never be saved. The language barrier was too great to be able to witness to these children. Thank God for churches like Iloilo Baptist Church, who are reaching these and countless others for Christ.

At the dinner, there were several firsts. Jennifer Opferman enjoyed fish (Marlin) for the first time, and many tried fresh coconut juice for the first time. Some of the food took a bit of convincing before eating, but everyone left full and thankful for the delicious meal.

We ended the day shopping at Iloilo Supermarket. In a foreign country, everything is an adventure. The supermarket was no different. It was fun seeing all the unique and interesting things in the supermarket. Today's blog post is not that long due to the fact we traveled much of the day. Make sure and check back tomorrow, as we attempt to visit another island, check on the churches we support, and begin the first service of the annual Pastors' Conference here at Iloilo Baptist Church.

Make sure and leave us comments below. We would love to hear what you think!